Minseok hovered nervously on King's Cross Platform 9, balancing his owl’s cage atop his luggage. He chewed on his lip, a nervous habit, gaze fixated on the wall in front of him. There had to be some other way onto 9 and 3/4, surely.

Just then, a boy several heads taller than him effortlessly rolled by and disappeared into the brick wall. All Minseok had time to note was the tiny owl perched on the boy’s shoulder before he seemingly vanished into thin air. He surveyed his surroundings—not one person batted their eyes at the peculiar situation, and deciding that it was safe, Minseok ran headfirst into the wall and appeared on the other side with such speed he almost crashed into another student.

He was relieved to step onto the train, the busy noises of the platform settling into a buzz of excited chatter from young witches and wizards. Minseok slipped into one of the less crowded areas, shutting the door behind him and taking a seat by the window. Much to his surprise, the seat across from him was occupied by none other than the boy he had seen back on the platform—tiny owl and all.

“Yifan,” the boy said.

“Excuse me?”

“You were wondering my name.”

Minseok blinked, staring dumbly before responding, “Minseok. That’s a cute owl you’ve got.”

“Ace says thank you,” Yifan said, seeming pleased.

“Are you a first year?” Curious, Minseok leans forward.

Yifan nods his head and Minseok says, “You seemed so confident going onto the platform, I was wondering if you had done it before.”

“My father is a wizard, and he taught me.”

“That’s amazing,” Minseok says, awe in his voice. “My parents are muggles and were pretty reluctant to send me here, but I don’t know a single person who’d pass up going to Hogwarts. When do we get sorted?”

“As soon as we arrive,” Yifan says. “There are four houses. Gryffindors are usually the rowdiest bunch, so you’ll recognize their table right away. A lot of respected witches and wizards are from there, but the same can be said of any house. Slytherins aren’t as loud, but everyone bonds strongly with each other—they’re a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure. They’re fiercely protective of their own, and for good reason too. Hufflepuffs are a friendly group of people, but don’t get on the wrong side of one unless you want to be jinxed with something ridiculous for days. Have I mentioned they’re quite playful? Now, as for Ravenclaws,” Yifan says, puffing out his chest with a bit of pride, “Well, my father was one. Clever as anything, they are.”

Minseok hung on to his every word, soaking up as much as he could.

“Do you know what house you’ll be in?”

“No,” Yifan shrugs noncommittally. “I’ll leave that to the sorting hat. It’s never wrong. At least, according to itself, that is.”

A voice from the hall outside shouted something about sweets, and not too long after a squeaky cart rolled to their side, stacked with just about any candy imaginable and unimaginable. Minseok’s eyes widened and his mouth watered as he took in the multicolored treats. He turned to Yifan the same time Yifan turned to him, both of them with pouches of coins out and grins wide on their faces.

“Chocolate frogs?”

“Chocolate frogs.”

“Honestly, I don’t have any doubt as to where I’ll be sorted,” Luhan shrugged, popping a Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Bean into his mouth.

“You seem pretty confident about it,” Junmyeon commented. “But you do know that just because everyone in your family has been in a house doesn’t mean you will be too.”

“I’m a pureblood,” Luhan laughed. “Nothing but magical Gryffindor blood in me, I can assure you that.”

There was no arguing with entitled purebloods, it seemed to Junmyeon, no matter how much he tried. He’d be more bothered if he didn’t have equal confidence in his house placement, though, and decided it best to let this one go.

“Hey, Yixing,” Luhan glanced at his friend. “What’s with the weird face?”

“Soap flavored bean,” came the sheepish reply.

While Minseok stared in rapt attention at the Headmaster while she spoke, Yifan had fallen asleep somehow, both standing up and with his eyes open. Minseok had to, none too gently, nudge him up to the stool where the sorting hat could be placed on his head.

“Pureblood,” the hat sniffed. “Reeking of chocolate frog as well, I see. You must be a Wu. Your father could never keep his hands off of those either. Hopping mad, he was. Both him and the frogs.”

“Thank you,” Yifan smiled.

“What’s he up to now? …This and that? Ah, I thought so. Well, I couldn’t put you in another house if I tried. RAVENCLAW it is,” The hat declared as Yifan meandered his way to the Ravenclaw table amidst claps.

Junmyeon settled into the stool next, fingers crossed behind his back.

“How many times will you repeat Gryffindor before you realize I’m not deaf?” The sorting hat complained, squirming atop Junmyeon’s head.

“Sorry,” Junmyeon winced. “I’m just excited.”

“No kidding…It looks like you’ve got it all planned out. No, no, don’t tell me your seven year plan, I’m not interested. Half-Bloods are an enthusiastic bunch. But I suppose I can’t be complaining! We always need more witches and wizards with high aims and ideals, don’t you think?GRYFFINDOR!”

Junmyeon’s self satisfied smile only grows as he catches Luhan’s eye in the crowd on his way to the Gryffindor table, where he’s welcomed with open arms. Unfazed, Luhan offers a smile of his own in return as the hat is placed on his head.

“Another pureblood, I see,” the hat muses. “Or are you? How long is the Lu family going to hide the Veela in their blood, hmm? You’d think three generations would be long enough.”

Luhan sighs impatiently.

“Then again, I suppose it would ruin the pureblood name…and since you don’t want anyone to know, I’ll move on to your placement…Though I’m sure you’ve seen it coming by now. Every single Lu, every single year…GRYFFINDOR!” The hat roars, and Luhan can’t help the smugness in his smile as the entire Gryffindor table descends into stomping, clapping, and wolf whistling.

Minseok did his best to clear his mind as he walked up to the stool. When had the sorting hat ever made an ill decision? Not in any of the research Minseok saw, at least, and who would a muggleborn like him be to doubt magic far beyond his comprehension?

“Interesting…Interesting, indeed. A sharp mind, b with potential. Do I sense a Slytherin? You’d do well in Ravenclaw too, and possibly even Gryffindor..” If the sorting hat had a chin and a beard, it would certainly be it upon Minseok’s head. “Well? Any wishes?”

“Whatever it takes,” Minseok responds simply.

“To…?”

“To take me to the top.”

“How exciting!” The sorting hat cackles. “SLYTHERIN.”

Minseok sneaks a glance to Yifan as he makes the walk to the Slytherin table, smiling upon seeing the double thumbs up aimed his way.

Yixing was the last to be called, and the sorting hat was on his head for barely a moment before it was over.

“Ambitious but traditional, stubborn and courageous, outspoken but never crass or arrogant. Loyal to a fault to boot. This seems familiar…let’s put you in GRYFFINDOR.”

More students are called to the front but Minseok can barely focus, excitement and nervousness coursing through his veins, resulting in a high that lasts up until his head hits his new pillow and he falls asleep to the sound of waves surrounding the Slytherin dorm.

It isn’t until the next day that his excitement fizzles and dies right before his eyes.

“Out of the way, Mudblood,” an upperclassman sneers, curling his lip and knocking into Minseok’s shoulder. “How’d you get into Slytherin anyway? Hat must be getting old—it’s out of its mind, can’t tell the difference between a pureblood and a dirty mudblood! ”

Minseok turns around to give his housemate a piece of his mind, but he’s already on the other end of the hallway, laughing it up over his little remark with a friend.

It didn’t take long for everyone in his house to find out about his…less than ideal lineage, and it took even less time before half the class turned their backs on him. Face burning with embarrassment, Minseok stalks off to the library, keeping his head down.

“You’ve been reading the same page for eight minutes now,” Yifan notes, twirling a quill between his fingers. “What’s wrong?”

“They’re awful, Yifan,” Minseok says quietly, shutting his book. “Protective of their own? What a joke,” he huffs. “I’ve been called…you know what, never mind.”

“They’ll come around. You’re cool, Minseok. And really smart.”

“What if this isn’t the right house for me?”

Yifan tucks the quill behind his ear. “The Sorting Hat is never wrong,” he says seriously.

“I know, I know,” Minseok sighs. “According to itself.”

“Have a little faith.”

Minseok is walking outside when he hears the one word that makes his blood run cold, tensing his shoulders.

“Mudblood!” Someone cackles, and he turns around to face the source of the voice.

Except this time, it’s not directed at him. It’s one of the fourth years he’s seen around, laughing down at another first year in the courtyard. Before he can think logically about the situation or find a professor, his feet are already taking him towards the center of the courtyard, wand out and robes billowing out behind him.

He casts a Jelly-Legs jinx at the fourth-year the same time a fist flies out of nowhere and punches the same fourth-year. His jinx hits the other student, who looks at him, wide-eyed, before collapsing onto the ground.

Minseok rushes over, and upon closer inspection he realizes he’s just jinxed Gryffindor house’s favorite and most popular first year—Luhan.

“Oh crap.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” Minseok winces as Luhan lies in the infirmary, confined to the bed for the next couple of hours.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t thinking either,” Luhan laughs. “I just got so mad when I heard that jerk yelling that at a first-year. Guess I kind of lost my head—totally forgot about my wand. That was smart, by the way. Jelly-Legs is a classic.”

Minseok relaxes a bit. “Thank you. I’m sorry the jinx hit you instead…”

“Not my first jinx,” Luhan grins. “Though it was my first time getting jinxed by such a cu—uhhhh…..”

“..Luhan? What did you say? You trailed off at the end there.”

“Um. What? Who was saying anything? Me? Ha! What?”

Minseok frowns and Luhan pastes on a nervous smile. Now his brain feels like jelly.

“Lu and Kim! You two, explain yourselves right now! What were you thinking, attacking another student?”

“Uh oh,” Luhan mumbles. “Here comes the lion.”

“Professor Leeteuk,” Minseok stands up, “I—”

“Kim! You Jelly-Legs-ed a Gryffindor?” Heechul pops out from behind Leeteuk, a smirk on his face.

“P-Professor,” Minseok stammers. “I can explain.”

“Do you really have to, though? Nice job,” Heechul winks.

“Your bias as Slytherin’s Housemaster is never the kind of input we need in situations like these,” Leeteuk frowns.

“Says the Housemaster of Gryffindor. Seems to me we’re both unqualified to judge this situation!”

“..Why do you sound so happy about that?”

“Professors, if I may?” Luhan pipes up from the bed. “Minseok and I overheard a fourth-year calling a first-year a mudblood, and neither of us were going to let that go. We’re sorry, but I feel like my jelly legs are enough punishment already.”

“..Very well. Don’t get too cocky though, mister. Five points from Gryffindor. Feel better soon, Lu. Kim.” Leeteuk nods at Minseok and Luhan, gathering his robes for an exit.

“Five points for Slytherin,” Heechul calls back to Minseok as he passes through the doors.

“You can’t do that!” Leeteuk frowns.

“Just did!” 

“Found you.”

Minseok looks up from his book and makes a face.

“I wasn’t hiding.”

Yifan walks over, taking in his surroundings.

“Corner of the library, extremely dusty because no one has been here since the dawn of time, and a book bigger than your face. Sounds like someone’s hiding to me.”

Minseok sneezes and Yifan pulls the book out of his hands, setting it down on the table with a knowing smile.

“Come with me.”

“Why are we in the astronomy tower?”

“I like coming here to think. And talk.” Yifan nudges Minseok. “So…”

“Everyone thinks I jinxed Luhan on purpose,” Minseok rolls his eyes. “Now people are either mad at me or…yeah, no, everyone’s just mad at me.”

“Let’s just obliviate everyone.”

Minseok gives Yifan an incredulous look.

“..Just kidding. Really, though, no one’s going to remember in a couple of weeks.”

“I guess.”

“But until then, the astronomy tower is always open and no one but me ever comes here.”

Minseok cracks a smile. The stars on the ceiling wink down at him, rotating slowly, and he puts his head on Yifan’s shoulder.

“Thanks.”

Yifan drapes his robe around them.

“What are friends for?”

NOTES: Thank you for waiting. Please enjoy!